An ode to the absurdity of the unexpected (plus bonus psoas serenade)

This sweet, absurd dance of life, how wonderful it is! Hands up those who saw the big cheese this week? A giant moon shook some of us with awe and in some cases, a wrench of agony. The main “vibe” seemed to be uncertainty which is pretty much like that person you really don´t want to sit next to on a transatlantic plane trip, all up in your space, refusing to let you ignore it, and always apparent. As much as one tries to stay ever-present (and effervescent!), sometimes it´s just plain torturous! Take this weekend in Bergen and the “weather” situation. Four seasons in one hour, anyone? How does one dress accordingly for snow, a rugged hailstorm followed by a balmy sun kiss? Just as we get used to something (and change into rain boots), suddenly we could use sandals.

Similar patterns were echoed this semester with classes. I pinch myself every week for the dream of teaching at Herosalen, and feel a surge of gratitude for those that share it with me, however as the weeks have been drawing in, the anxiety of the next project has been gurning at me through the window, refusing to ruddy well sit quietly. Of course, the funny thing with life is it just keeps happening, and before we know it, other things come along to distract us, and suddenly, the thing we were concerned about steps down and resolves itself into something you least expected. What divine perfection.

Take a situation a couple of months ago, post class, a dear regular goddess came to me with an idea to roll out yoga classes to galleries in the area as this was where she worked and had spoken to her colleagues in hope of making this happen. It was one of those moments, pennies incredulously dropping, lightbulbs exploding and well, jaw at full gape. I couldn´t believe that a whole year before, i had been intent on trying to take yoga into new territories, as i was finding it so hard to find a regular space to hold classes. I felt the universe was trying to tell me to embrace my hobo tendencies and roll in the hay with a variety of locations, repurposing different spaces to see and experience them in a different way. Except it didn´t work out that way. I held events, but then lo and behold I stumbled across the jewel that is Herosalen, and was kindly offered a regular space to rent, which seemed an utterly bonkers idea to ignore. So, i swooped in with open arms, dropping my venue hopping idea, for then…Until it was reignited by said goddess. Gracious! It´s all perfect, every part. Every prior disappointment, all gleeful synchronisities and wacky nuggets.

And so here we are. A new project. An old idea, that has presented itself with an even better concept than i could have dreamed. Yoga in the galleries, opening with a special event next Sunday at Bergen Kunst Museum in Tårnsalen! Goodness.

Guess my point here is, no matter how much we might want to try to control something, whether it´s planning within an inch of our lives, worrying how something might or might not turn out, or simply not allowing things to “be”, stuff is going to happen regardless. And probably in the ways we least expect.

Classes this week focussing on releasing and strengthening the psoas, a region often misunderstood (along with the old cheeks), and an area we use every time we walk or move our legs. Cue a deep, nourishing practice inspired by Kathryn Budig´s route to Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II. With deep hip, chest and arm openers, as with any challenging posture or situation, we might find resistance the natural obstacle. Resistance = constriction, so when things seem like they aren´t quite part of the plan, can we instead try a more spacious approach, perhaps going with the flow, dealing with what might be on the plate (or mat), trying not to force it into our idea of what it should look/feel like and instead do our best to be as receptive as possible to the goodness en route.

Be willing to open up. And be slightly crazy. And in the words of our dear Oprah, “Concentrate on what you have, and you will ALWAYS have more!”.